Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 508: Glen Moray 15 Year Old 2007 Thompson Bros

Mark Dermul, Belgian whiskyblogger, tastes a Glen Moray. It is one of those distilleries that often stays under the radar, producing primarily for blending purposes. But sometimes independent bottlers succeed in selecting an excellent single cask. This is one of those, bottled by Phil and Simon Thompson under their Thompson Bros label. It’s a single bourbon cask from 2007, bottled in 2023 at cask strength. And while it’s a UK exclusive, Mark was lucky enough to have a pal bring over a bottle.

Auction Record for a Collection of Japanese Whisky

KODAWARI | The Greatest Japanese Whisky Collection

Achieves £1.8 Million / $2.2 Million

“I am delighted that we have broken the record for the most valuable collection of Japanese whisky ever sold at auction. The KODAWARI Collection was built tirelessly over many years by an extremely passionate and dedicated collector and it’s fantastic to have achieved such a fitting result for him and his bottles. With many of the rarest whiskies from Karuizawa, Hanyu and Yamazaki distilleries among others, it was a real honour to work on a collection of this calibre and bring yet another record-breaking collection to auction at Sotheby’s. The result far outweighs the previous record which is a testament to the quality and rarity of the KODAWARI collection and this is undoubtedly one of my career highlights so far.”

James Gray, Sotheby’s Whisky Specialist

17th NOVEMBER 2023 – Today at Sotheby’s in London, an auction record for a collection of Japanese whisky was achieved when KODAWARI | The Greatest Japanese Whisky Collection brought an overall total of £1,784,937 / $2,216,892.

Predominantly made up of single cask releases from the famed Karuizawa Distillery, which ceased production in 2000, many of which rarely come to auction, the four-hour sale drew spirited bidding in the room and on the telephones as well as online. The results were headlined by a bottle of Karuizawa 52 Year Old Cask #5627 1960, which sold for £300,000 / $372,600. One of only 41 bottles and the oldest Karuizawa to have been released, each is uniquely identified not by a bottle number, but by an individual character or katabori netsuke that was carved from the oak cask head of cask #5627.

The collection included in excess of 150 bottles of Karuizawa dating back to 1960, alongside rare whiskies from The Yamazaki, Hakushu, Yoichi and Hanyu distilleries. Among the top lots were a trio of Karuizawa distilled in 1965 and bottled for the 60th Anniversary of Parisian whisky shop, La Maison du Whisky, and a bottle of the Karuizawa Aqua of Life 45 Year Old, released for the Taiwanese market.

This year, 2023, marks the centenary of Japanese whisky – a spirit that 100 years ago was forged in the footprint of Scotch whisky, but nowadays very much has a unique standing in the whisky collecting world. Today’s sale was made possible by one collector’s foresight for the potential of Japanese whisky. Not only did the collector manage to obtain some of the rarest whiskies ever produced, he is also in the unique position of having tasted almost every single one of them, including the Karuizawa 1960. His passion overwhelmed any sense of trepidation when building the collection – when he began his foray into Japanese whisky, interest in the category outside of Asia was fairly non-existent, which is surprising given the exceptional quality of much of the malt whisky being produced in Japan. Although a ‘hidden gem’ in the West at the time, Japanese whisky was still fairly accessible. By the early 2010s, the whiskies had begun to appear regularly in Europe and the collector – a true enthusiast – started to swap and trade bottles with other like-minded individuals around the world to ensure his collection was as comprehensive as possible.

About Sotheby’s

Established in 1744, Sotheby’s is the world’s premier destination for art and luxury. Sotheby’s promotes access to and ownership of exceptional art and luxury objects through auctions and buy-now channels including private sales, e-commerce and retail. Our trusted global marketplace is supported by an industry-leading technology platform and a network of specialists spanning 40 countries and 70 categories which include Contemporary Art, Modern and Impressionist Art, Old Masters, Chinese Works of Art, Jewelry, Watches, Wine and Spirits, and Design, as well as collectible cars and real estate. Sotheby’s believes in the transformative power of art and culture and is committed to making our industries more inclusive, sustainable and collaborative.

Our NOVEMBER 2023 Auction ENDS SOON!

Looking to expand your whisky collection? Head to our November auction to see what your missing!

Auction closes from 8pm (BST) Tuesday 28th November

www.speysidewhiskyauctions.co.uk

Macallan – 30 Years Old – 1974 Fine & Rare

This remarkable Macallan 1974 – Fine & Rare whisky was unveiled in 2004. On July 18, 1974, a solitary puncheon, Cask No. 929038, was filled and aged for an impressive 30 years before being bottled in 2004 at its natural cask strength, without undergoing chill filtration.

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Macallan 30 Year Old “Double Cask” Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $4,999.99 View

 Smells of chocolate-covered orange, dry malt and oak; aeration stimulates dry breakfast cereal, lanolin, beeswax and palm oil aromas. Entry is layered by sweet grain, oak barrel, vanilla wafer, toffee and fudge; midpalate gives off wave after wave of integrated spirit, grain, wood and acidity. A perfect Speyside single malt. (PP)  (11/2008)

K&L Notes

Macallan’s Double Cask line still features all sherry cask matured whiskey, but includes American oak sherry casks as well as European oak sherry cask. The big 30 year age statement is only available in tiny quantities. Get it while you can!

Macallan 30 Year Old Sherry Oak Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $5,999.99 View

 Smells of chocolate-covered orange, dry malt and oak; aeration stimulates dry breakfast cereal, lanolin, beeswax and palm oil aromas. Entry is layered by sweet grain, oak barrel, vanilla wafer, toffee and fudge; midpalate gives off wave after wave of integrated spirit, grain, wood and acidity. A perfect Speyside single malt.  (11/2008)

K&L Notes

This mighty 30 year is never available long.

Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Glenfarclas 1984

ralfy review 1004 Extras – Glasgows Whisky Festival + ralfy bottlings !

Ayrshire-based Lochlea Distillery crowned

International Trade Business of the Year in regional awards

Darren McCormick from Lochlea Distillery

and Samantha McKechnie from Neogen (award category sponsor)

 The independently owned and family-run Lochlea Distillery in South Ayrshire – one of the very few farm-to-cask whisky distilleries in Scotland – has scooped the ‘Going Global – International Trade Business of the Year’ award at the Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce Business Awards.

The annual Ayrshire Business Awards attract high profile industry support and are established as the leading awards ceremony for Ayrshire businesses, providing the opportunity to showcase major achievements and to celebrate outstanding success.

The winners were announced at the 2023 Awards Dinner on Friday (6th October) at Ayr Racecourse where the Lochlea Distillery team were delighted to win the Going Global – International Trade Business of the Year category, celebrating companies that have demonstrated significant international growth and proving that borders are not a barrier to trade.

Lochlea Distillery has a rich Scottish heritage and was once home to Robert Burns himself who worked and lived on the farm during his formative years, from 1777 to 1784. Having only launched their first whisky in January 2022, Lochlea’s whiskies are already stocked in over 150 retailers in the UK and in 20 export markets worldwide.

David Ferguson, Commercial Director at Lochlea Distillery commented: “We are over the moon to have won this prestigious award celebrating growing businesses in our region, especially given the calibre of our fellow Ayrshire finalists. We have a strong and expanding local customer base whose support has been key since we launched last year. On the export side, it means a lot to our team that Lochlea has been recognised for our achievements to date, and we have exciting plans to continue moving into more international markets in future”.

About Lochlea Distillery:

Lochlea was originally a 222 acre livestock farm before being purchased by Neil and Jen McGeoch in 2006. After much consideration of the future of the farm and a successful trial to grow its own barley in 2015, the couple transformed the land and existing farm buildings into a fully-operational distillery in 2017 and started distilling the following year. The farming side has remained a unique part of Lochlea, with the move into barley production – paving the way for Lochlea to be one of the very few fully grain-to-cask distilleries in Scotland.

November 2023 Auction // 24.11.23 – 04.12.23

Now Live: November Auction

A warm welcome to our November auction. Featuring almost 9,000 rare whiskies and fine spirits.

This month marks a historic moment as the Blair Castle whisky comes to sale. Believed to have been distilled in 1833, this whisky may very well be the oldest Scotch whisky in existence, with 24 bottles available. Bid on the Blair Castle bottles here.

Alongside this, we have an incredible auction of old & rare bottles, many seen for the first time at Whisky Auctioneer- from an extensive collection of over 300 lots of Ardbeg, to the iconic 2010 release Highland Park 50 Year Old. This is also the last opportunity to buy that special bottle before the festive season kicks off.

Browse almost 9,000 lots in our live auction.

Blair Castle Scotch Whisky

Discovered in the cellars of Blair Castle in Highland Perthshire, this month’s auction sees 24 bottles of what is thought to be the oldest Scotch whisky in the world come to auction. Believed to have been distilled in 1833, this is a historic moment for the Scotch whisky industry.

Discover single malts aged 40 years or above

Ardbeg Special Liqueur D&J MacEwen 1950s

Highland Park 50 Year Old 2010 Release

Strathisla 25 Year Old Intertrade Bicentenary Magnum 1.5 Litre

Dunkeld Archives Charity Bottles

Whisky Auctioneer is delighted to be supporting The Chapter House Museum Trust [also known as the Dunkeld Archives] by offering donated bottles in our November 2023 Auction to support their redevelopment project to create a first class, accessible heritage centre. The Chapter House Museum Trust is a recent recipient of The King’s Award for Voluntary Service and Dunkeld, one of the neighbouring towns to our Perth home, has a history stretching back to the Picts and includes many links to the whisky industry.

All of the proceeds from this lot, including Whisky Auctioneer’s buyer’s commission, will go to support their redevelopment project.

Next month marks ten years since we held our very first auction at Whisky Auctioneer. A lot has happened since then – the launch of our sister sites, Wine Auctioneer and Rum Auctioneer, as well as exciting projects, record-breaking auctions and global expansion.

While we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our journey so far, things can’t stay the same forever. That’s why we’ve refreshed our branding to better reflect the nature of Whisky Auctioneer in 2023. We’re really excited to share our new look with you, and are even more excited to see where it takes us in the next ten years. We hope you enjoy seeing it across our website, social media and emails too.

Interested in selling in our next auction? Fill out our Seller Form today.

ralfy review 1003 Extras – More about Irish Pot-Still Whiskey.